Gary and Kathy Adams of LaFayette have been growing giant pumpkins on their farm for the past several years, and this is their season to shine.

This fall, however, Gary Adams says he'll have to wait to take the top pumpkin prize as his monstrous pumpkins weren't as huge this year. Rather than tip the scale at 1,200-plus pounds, this year's crop didn't get plumper than 1,000 pounds.

While that may seem still seem like mega-pumpkins to most people, growers of giant pumpkins want them even more gigantic.

Kathy Adams grew a 918-pound pumpkin this year, whereas last year she grew one that weighed 1,233 pounds. Gary Adams grew a 1,209-pound pumpkin last year.

This month, the pair placed eighth with a "Team Adams" entry in the Oswego Pumpkin Festival. That one tipped the scales at a whopping 1,036.5 pounds.

Still not big enough for the Adams family.

"It was a tough year for me, even though I worked my rear end off," he said. "That's farming for you."

On a bright note, one of Adams' pumpkins was featured at the apple festival, where Mark Ross of Norwich carved it into a witch's head. It's now in the Adams' driveway on display.